As a religious fundamentalist I was taught to deny science and fact. Now that I have made my exodus from religion I am free to accept science and realize that it does not undermine my belief in God. Religion is by no means an authority on spirituality, nor should we continue to allow it to be the sole arbiter on things sacred and moral. Religions are man-made institutions; human perspectives of the divine, not divine perspectives of humanity. A shift from religious fundamentalism to a focus on spirituality frees us to appreciate culture, history and science, moving us past the idea of tolerance, which most fundamentalists don’t practice anyway, to celebration and identification with all of humanity.

Gandhi said, “No culture can live, if it attempts to be exclusive.” It has seemed impossible for religion to avoid exclusivity. For when we seek to possess God, we create an atmosphere of ignorance, hatred and fear of anything that appears different, including other religions and science. Religion teaches us to be satisfied with not understanding the world and draws arbitrary lines between science and truth; good and godly, so that the science is now in opposition to God and the good man is condemned to hell. Not only does this support a narrow view of God, but it locks us into a narrow view of ourselves. Spirituality is something everyone can have, and it seeks to erase the ancient battle lines between science and religion, promoting openness, appreciation, humility, and acceptance.

Every one of us during our school days found ourselves with a question during a lecture. A question we were too afraid to ask. A question we let go unanswered for fear of looking dumb or unprepared in front of classmates.

This story represents my experience, and I believe the experiences of countless others, with modern-day Christianity. Before I go on let me point out that I can only speak on Christianity since it is the religious tradition I most understand, but make no mistake, all across the world in every “religious classroom” sits millions of “students” afraid to raise their hands.

Far too many people for far too long recognize this story as their own when it comes to God and mankind’s understanding of Her. We all read and are told heroic stories of a God of unconditional love and sacrifice and yet the God preached is one of hatred, judgment, wrath, and legalism. Jesus fed the hungry, cured the sick, confronted the hypocritical, and ordered us to love others as we love ourselves. But the God preached by Christian leaders places roadblocks in front of the hungry and homeless, wants you to “pray” for the needy, and oppose and reject those who don’t believe as you do. They would have us all believe that love equals hate, forgiveness equals judgment, and wealth equals prosperity, or put it a different way, 1+1=3 or sometimes 5.

Over a year ago, my sister, my beautiful wife, and others in my family started raising our hands because we could no longer ignore the equation being taught in our “religious classrooms”. To our great surprise many of our friends (mostly young people) began raising their hands too. Now we know that many around the world from many different faiths are raising their hands as well. Consider this blog my sister’s and my willingness to look stupid in front of the classroom. We have questions, and we will ask them!

Mr. Keats stood at the front of the class staring intently into the eyes of his students. He had a larger than life personality. He was dramatic and convincing. His colleagues said he missed his true calling.

“We’re going to begin the year with arithmetic,” Mr. Keats announced to the first grade class.

Lauren smiled to herself, very pleased with the topic of study. All of that time spent with her mom in grocery stores and baking during the summer was going to pay off. Mr. Keats turned his back to the class and scribbled on the board. His arms swooshed in large motions, the grains of chalk pressed against the blackboard like mortar and pestle. He dropped the chalk in its silver tray sending a puff of dust into the air and turned to face his class.

He looked out over the sea of faces. Some of them smiled up at him, but more than half sat stunned. The students exchanged glances with one another. Lauren sat at the front of the class and stared at the equation on the board (1+1=3). Her eyebrows furrowed.

“How can that be?” Lauren asked herself. She thought about raising her hand. Maybe Mr. Keats had made a mistake. Her heart began pounding. The sound flooded her ears until it was all she could hear. Lauren never really spoke up in class. She clenched her hands into fists. Her palms started to sweat and her nails dug deeper into her moist skin. She drew in a few deep breaths to calm herself, but it did not work. Time ticked away. Her stomach twisted and dropped as if caught in a free-fall. She quickly abandoned the thought of speaking up. Maybe someone else would do it. Maybe someone else would risk looking like a fool in front of the entire class. She sat fidgeting at her desk and growing more and more anxious. Mr. Keats made no attempt to correct the equation. Lauren’s confidence was tumbling like an avalanche. No one in the class made a move to ask the question. Was she the only one?

Her voice went off like a siren in her head. “Would somebody please raise their hand!”